Former FDNY Fire protection inspector arrested on charges of falsified inspections
NEW YORK (WABC) -- The former FDNY Fire Protection Inspector was arrested Tuesday on charges of issuing violations for inspections he never conducted between December 2017 and March 2018.
Barry Parmanan, 64, had been an FDNY employee since September 1997.
Parmanan is charged with offering a false instrument for filing, making an apparently sworn false statement, and perjury.
"Falsifying a fire inspection is a crime that potentially can place New Yorkers' lives and property at risk," said Margaret Garnett, commissioner for the NYC Department of Investigation.
The complaint detailed the following three fraudulent inspections:
--On February 28, 2018, Parmanan issued a summons to a pizza restaurant on West 171st St. in Manhattan for failure to provide appropriate documentation for record of fire suppression tests and cleaning in the kitchen. Parmanan had indicated that no officer, director or managing agent was present and the summons was left on the door. However, a manager at the restaurant told investigators that Parmanan was never at the restaurant and cell site records of Parmanan's phone showed his phone located in the Parkchester section of the Bronx 43 minutes before the alleged inspection.
--On March 1, 2018, Parmanan issued a summons to a parochial school on West 187th Street in Manhattan for failure to provide appropriate documentation for record of fire suppression tests. Parmanan had indicated that he was told by a school employee that no officer, director or managing agent was present and the summons was left on the door of the kitchen. The investigation found that Parmanan's name was not in the school's sign-in book for that day and that the school employee whom Parmanan named as providing the information that no official was present was a former employee who no longer worked at the school. Also, the violation Parmanan cited does not exist since the fire suppression test had been conducted. In addition, cell site records for Parmanan's phone indicated that he was in the Parkchester section of the Bronx 14 minutes before the alleged inspection.
--On March 2, 2018, Parmanan issued a summons to a restaurant on West 181st Street in Manhattan for failure to provide appropriate documentation for record of fire suppression tests. Parmanan indicated that he was told by a restaurant employee that no officer, director or managing agent was present and the summons was left on the door of the building. Surveillance footage in the area did not show any FDNY employee present during the timeframe of the alleged inspection and there is no record of the restaurant employee whom Parmanan named as providing the information that no official was present. In addition, cell site records for Parmanan's phone indicated that 16 minutes after the alleged inspection, Parmanan's phone was in the Soundview section of the South Bronx.
"Falsifying inspections as this defendant is alleged to have done undermines the integrity of the process which is in place to keep us safe and needlessly puts people's lives at risk," said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. "This defendant further allegedly violated the trust we place in our public servants, eroding faith in our system of oversight."
The FDNY released a statement saying,
"FDNY uncovered the false reports by Inspector Parmanan, investigated the allegations, and reported the matter to DOI. In addition, the Department withdrew the false summonses that had been issued and re-inspected each location."
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